Whatever the location, beachside, mountain top or city edge, the design explorations that shape a resort remain the same.

Working internationally, we are often in a position of designing in a place that is not ‘our’ place, where we must quickly develop a deep and respectful understanding of the local landscape, built culture, spirituality and economy.

We’ve had fun over the past few weekends playing with Microsoft’s 2020 release of Flight Simulator. With a new world map utilising Bing Maps’ satellite imagery and AI to re-create the terrain of the entire planet and populate it with building models, vegetation and water, we wondered whether the game would be useful as an analysis tool. And indeed it is, allowing us to pay flying visits to sites currently blocked by physical travel restrictions.

STUDIO NvS Director Fiona Nixon continues her engagement with the NUS School of Architecture in 2020, this year running a master’s studio in luxury resort design titled ‘Grace, Peace and Place’.